Jennifer McCarter
Headquarters, Washington, DC January 15, 1998
(Phone: 202/358-1639)
June Malone
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL
(Phone: 205/544-0034)
RELEASE: 98-6
NEW SPACE SHUTTLE EXTERNAL TANK READY TO LAUNCH SPACE STATION ERA
A significant achievement toward the first launch of the
International Space Station will be unveiled Friday. The Space
Shuttle's first new, super lightweight external fuel tank will
roll out during ceremonies at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in
New Orleans, LA.
In order to launch the Space Station to its on-orbit
location, "the Space Shuttle system needed additional performance
-- either through more power or less weight," said Parker Counts,
manager of the External Tank Project at NASA's Marshall Space
Flight Center, Huntsville, AL.
"Since each pound removed from the external tank equals a
pound of payload that can be carried into space," Counts said,
"NASA developed the super lightweight tank." The new external
tank is the same size as the one currently used on the Space
Shuttle --but about 7,500 pounds lighter.
The largest single component of the Space Shuttle, the 154-
foot-long external tank stands taller than a 15-story building and
is as wide as a silo with a diameter of about 27 feet. The
external tank holds the liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen
propellants in two separate tanks for the Shuttle's three main engines.
The two major changes to the external tank involved materials
and design. Both the liquid hydrogen tank and the liquid oxygen
tank are constructed of aluminum lithium -- a lighter, stronger
material than the metal alloy used for the Shuttle's current
external tank.
The tank's structural design also has been improved. The
walls of the redesigned hydrogen tank are machined in an
orthogonal waffle-like pattern, providing more strength and
stability than the previous design.
Following Friday's rollout, the tank will be shipped by barge
from Louisiana to Kennedy Space Center, FL, for its first launch
scheduled in May on STS-91. The new design will not affect the
assembly process when the orbiter is mated to the external tank
and solid rocket boosters.
The Shuttle's current external tank and the new, super
lightweight tank are manufactured by Lockheed Martin at the
Michoud Assembly Facility. Marshall provides the external tank,
main engines and solid rocket boosters, including the reusable
solid rocket motors, for every Shuttle flight.
- end -
Editor's note: Photos and video supporting this release are
available to media representatives by contacting June Malone,
Media Services Office, Marshall Space Flight Center, 205/544-0034.